Italy deploys sniffer dogs to search for survivors in bridge collapse
Italian rescuers say there is still hope of finding survivors under a section of the highway bridge that collapsed on August 14.
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Cranes move concrete blocks at the site of the bridge collapse on August 16. Photo:Reuters. |
"We are looking for a place to drill into the rubble. Then cranes and digging equipment will be deployed to create a path for the dogs,"ReutersStefano Zanut, a firefighter searching for victims of the Morandi highway bridge collapse in Genoa, northwestern Italy, said today.
Rescuers hope that large blocks of concrete may have leaned against each other, creating gaps for survivors to hide in. Twenty people are still missing, and firefighters have not yet reached all the cars buried in the rubble.
Rescue operations were called off this morning due to a fire that broke out near the site of the collapse. The cause was determined to be sparks from a metal cutter that landed on a warehouse below the bridge, igniting it.
A 200-meter section of the Morandi highway bridge collapsed on August 14, killing at least 39 people and injuring 15. Hundreds of Genoa residents living in buildings near the Morandi bridge spent the night in gyms and shelters, after authorities warned their homes could collapse at any moment.
